From Our Clients

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your dedication and assistance during our annual shutdown. Your help in fast tracking this project and getting it to where it is today is greatly appreciated. The hard work and long hours put into this project are reflected in its accomplishments. Never before has this mill been able to import power from the utility in any of the scenarios tested with such little impact to the power system as a whole. Your willingness and dedication in pursuing issues outside of the contracted work is also very appreciated."

"We hope you found this project as interesting and challenging as we did, we also hope your experience at our facility was an enjoyable one. In discussions with our people who were involved in the project they found it to be a great learning opportunity and appreciated your sharing of information and knowledge. We look forward to working together again in the future if the opportunity presents itself."

Testing

Utility interest and emphasis on the modeling of generators and their associated control equipment is driven by several factors including deregulation of the electric utility industry throughout North America, blackouts in Western and Eastern power grids, and NERC and Independent System Operator requirements.

Tests are performed on generators and their control loops for the following reasons:

• confirm dynamic response of generator controls during initial commissioning
• locate problems during troubleshooting
• develop accurate mathematical models
• satisfy NERC and Independent System Operator regulatory requirements

Kestrel offers a complete package of generator testing services from development of initial test plans to on site tests to simulation model development and verification and complete documentation. These service offerings are complemented by our expertise in the design of simulation and coordination study software, testing hardware, and training products to assist utilities in increasing their competence in this increasingly important area. Our specialization in these areas and decades of field test experience has made us one of the primary contractors for NERC and Regional Compliance testing throughout North America.

Kestrel collaborates with the designers of all new major generator control systems and has been instrumental in championing the integration of special test and control features, including the integral of accelerating power-based stabilizer into many new systems. Detailed design knowledge coupled with our extensive tuning and testing experience provides us with special insights into the practical implementation and setting of generator controls on all types of generator designs and applications.

Kestrel has tested TODO generators since our inception in 2000, and specifically for NERC MOD and PRC standards TODO units. We can mobilize trained personnel to any North American location.

Engineering

Few utilities can afford to maintain in-house expertise in all aspects of their operations. Kestrel can deliver the highest level of technical expertise available in a variety of important specialties, allowing you to focus on other core business activities such as

• development and review of specifications for the purchase and/or refurbishment of generator control systems including excitation systems, power system stabilizers and governors
• acceptance testing and tuning of generator controls
• protection system coordination and review
• simulation and data analysis

NERC Compliance

Some generation service providers are concerned about Compliance regulations because of their lack of experience with the required measurements and analysis. Kestrel encourages utilities to see this as an opportunity to define a systematic approach to their asset maintenance and documentation and to establish performance standards for their equipment.

Kestrel provides a complete service offering based on our "Compliance Life Cycle" model (refer to our Articles for a complete description). With this approach, regulatory reporting requirements are met as a by-product of the process, rather than being the main focus. Compliance is achieved at a reasonable cost with minimal disruption to normal operation. The elements of this service offering include:

• Audit of utility's existing data collection and reporting
• Development of tailored test plans based on station requirements
• Compliance testing
• Model development and verification
• Compliance reporting
• Staff training

Training

There can be little disagreement that training is critical to the continued competitiveness of utility market participants in the new de-regulated environment. Despite this, many utilities continue to make use of outdated programs and do not take full advantage of new technology in bringing information to their staff.

At Kestrel, we take great pride in the preparation of innovative training programs for engineers, technicians, operators and managers. Our courses are consistently rated as excellent by participants and are supported by computer-based refresher training modules that ensure a continuing positive influence on your operations.

The Company

Kestrel Power Engineering was formed to provide utilities with access to specialized expertise in the area of generator control. With decades of experience in Ontario Hydro and Commonwealth Edison, formerly two of North America's largest electric utilities, we bring proven expertise and solutions to your problems. As former utility engineers and technologists we understand the difficulty of dealing with complex technical problems in companies that are increasingly distracted by financial, political and regulatory issues. Our service offerings are designed to provide you with access to the latest technical expertise while helping you understand the impact of recent regulatory developments on your day-to-day activities.

Personnel Biographies: Canada, USA

Software

The power industry was one of the first to employ large-scale computing in its design and operation. The available tools have primarily focused on large-scale power system stability analysis or protective relaying application. Kestrel has developed software applications focusing on generator control and testing based on decades of experience. Our tools are constantly being enhanced to reflect changing regulations, vendor equipment, testing methods, and modeling/model verification techniques. Our tools are benchmark tested against industry standards and simulation platforms, but are designed to allow for the diverse and changing needs of our customers.

• Generator Capability Visualization (GenCap)
• The Virtual Generating Station Training Simulator (Virtual GS)
• Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation Software (VirtualGen)

Testing Equipment

In order to meet the special demands of on-line testing of utility-scale generators and their controls, Kestrel has designed a number of innovative transducers and recorders. The safety features and user interfaces reflect our decades of experience testing sensitive controls on units of all sizes under the demanding power station environment. Our hardware is manufactured, distributed and supported by Broy Engineering Limited under their ISO9000 quality program. Our custom test equipment allows us to test the generator’s controls in a controlled way and produce digital data for simulation, analysis and reporting as needed to meet NERC MOD-025, MOD-026, and MOD-027 compliance requirements.

• PowerVu Data Recorder
• ISOCH Frequency Recorder

Articles

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